Our History

In 1998, Occidental activist Doris Murphy and Redwood Arts Council (RAC) founder Kit Neustadter founded the Occidental Center for the Performing and Visual Arts, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding a home venue for the Occidental Choir, the RAC concert series, and other artists in Occidental. Their vision was confirmed by a feasibility study completed by AMS Planning and Research that showed community support by individuals polled, as well as a demographic match in income and education in the area that would enjoy such a space.

In 2003, Orrin and Terri Theissen began developing Harmony Village on the site of the closed Harmony School, and agreed to donate a classroom and the multi-purpose room to the OCA. An architect and an acoustician were hired who created plans for turning our multipurpose room into a world-class performance space.

In 2008 the final map for Harmony Village was approved and we launched a capital fund raising campaign to finance the completion of our plans and the construction of our dream art center. In the midst of an economic downturn, we transformed our fundraising focus toward “human capital,” for Phase II of our construction. From then until our grand opening in 2010, we completed $175,000 of construction work with $80,000 and over 7,000 logged hours of volunteer help.

The result is an acoustically sound auditorium, a professional stage, light and sound board, great sight lines, an art exhibition gallery, an amphitheater and classroom space. The Redwood Arts Council and Occidental Community Choir, long-term community presenting organizations, consider OCA their home. We have performances, literary events and visual art exhibits year round. A dedicated army of volunteers along with one part time staff member make everything happen.

Our latest project to build a lobby entrance for the auditorium will be completed in 2021, and our future plans include extending our auditorium stage, completing an outdoor plaza, installing a permanent shade cover for our amphitheater and more.